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Gradius II: GOFER no Yabō
Gradius II is a horizontally-scrolling shooter published by Konami in 1988 for video arcades. Gradius II never saw availability in North America until the release of Gradius Collection for the PlayStation Portable, instead, the Life Force conversion of Salamander was marketed as the sequel to Gradius. It was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in North America on October 20, 2008 at a cost of 900 Wii Points. Plot The player returns as the role of the pilot of the Vic Viper spaceship to battle the second onslaughts of the Bacterion Empire, under the new leadership of Gofer, the giant head. Gameplay Gradius II has kept the gameplay from the original game, but infused it with enhancements brought from the spin-off, Salamander, and the Japanese arcade release of Life Force. This is primarily evident in two of the weapons configurations that are selectable. Another first in the series was the inclusion of the "boss rush" (also known as "boss parade" or "boss alley"), levels designed entirely with only boss confrontations. Weapons Gradius II retains the selection bar from Gradius, but now the player can choose between four different weapon configurations and progressions. All schemes have speed-up and multiples (Options), but have differing 'Missile', 'Double', and 'Laser' weapons. Additionally, there are also two types of shielding to choose from: 'Shield' and 'Forcefield'. Weapon Types Missile Weapons * Missile: Changed slightly from Gradius. You no longer need to wait for all missiles to disappear before you can re-fire. The power has been reduced (or the enemies have become stronger). * Spread Bomb: Similar to the Napalm weapon of Nemesis 2. It does not, however, coast along the terrain. Instead, it detonates on impact, causing a large explosion that deals damage (this is why it's the best missile weapon in the game). It is very powerful, and the ballistic dropping arc is useful for hitting enemies; however, even the bosses can be defeated easily with these bombs. * Photon Torpedo: Much like the missile, but drops straight out of the ship/Option, making it a bit more unwieldy. In return for this, the missile will pass through all targets until it touches something indestructible. * 2-Way Missile: Similar to the weapon of Salamander in that a pair of missiles are launched above and below. However, they no longer coast along the terrain, and simply disappear on impact. Double Weapons * Double: Identical to the Double of Gradius Arcade version. 2 bullets are fired: one forward, and the other at a 45 degree angle upward. You may not fire another volley until both shots have disappeared, making the weapon generally weaker in power than the standard shot. Though difficult to use and weak, it is sometimes the only way for you to deal with certain sections reasonably. * Tail Gun: The second bullet is fired out the tail of the ship instead. There are only a few sections with enemies that appear from behind, but it can be useful for them. Laser Weapons * Laser: Roughly identical to that of Gradius. A powerful beam is fired which can be swept up and down for better coverage. The Type B version fires a twisting beam, much like in Salamander, that has a slightly bigger hitbox. * Pulse: AKA, Ripple. About the same as in Salamander. The longer the ring can stay on the screen, the wider it gets. Hanging back with 4 Options aligned vertically will allow you to cover most of the screen without having to move. You can also hit enemies placed on the terrain above or below without having to get too close. While the weapon is generally weaker than the Laser, some bosses in Gradius II appear to have a "weakness" to it. Shield Types * Shield: Just like Gradius. It offers greater durability, but only guards the front. Not ideal, given that most attacks come from above or below. It also has more trouble with terrain collision, causing the shield to weaken as you have to squeeze into tight spaces throughout the game. * Force Field: It only guards against 3 hits, but will protect against attacks from any direction. In the Famicom version, you can only choose this type. Ports and Legacy The game was first ported to the Nintendo Family Computer in 1988. It was never released in North America. The game also features a mapper chip which enhanced some of the game's graphics and sounds. This port changed the stage order and added and removed bosses. The game was then ported in 1992 to the PC Engine Super CD system. The graphics remained unaltered and one additional stage was added that is similar to the temple stage in the NES version of Life Force and the first stage of Gradius III. Additionally a sound test was added. The MSX1 version of Gradius 2 (released as Nemesis 2 in the European market) was an original sequel produced specifically for the platform and unrelated to the arcade version. Portions of Gradius II were later re-used in Nemesis 3, which acts as a sequel to the arcade title. Gradius II was later re-released in the Japanese exclusive Gradius Deluxe Pack for the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Microsoft Windows in 1996, and for the first time a worldwide release on the Gradius Collection for the Sony PSP. The PC Engine version was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console service in North America on October 20, 2008, at a cost of 900 Wii Points. This release retains the Japanese subtitle Gofer no Yabou. Stages ;Arcade Version Stage 1: Burning Heat Stage 2: Synthetic Life Stage 3: Crystal World Stage 4: A Way Out Of Difficulty Stage 5: The Old Stone Age PC-Engine CD Exclusive Stage 6: Ruined Temple Stage 6: Maximum Speed Stage 7: Boss Rush Stage 8: Into Hostile Ship ;Famicom Version Stage 1: Burning Heat Stage 2: Synthetic Life Stage 3: Heavy Blow Stage 4: Space Crystal Stage 5: The Old Stone Age Stage 6: Boss Rush Stage 7: Maximum Speed, Unknown Spaceship Stage 8: Something Ghostly Bosses ;Arcade/PC Engine: * Stage 1: Phoenix * Stage 2: Big Eye * Stage 3: Crystal Core * Stage 4: Death MK II * Stage 5: Jumping Moai, Big Moai * Stage 6 - PC Engine: Desert Core * Stage 6: Big Core MK II * Stage 7: Zub Rush, Big Core, Tetran, Gau, Fire Dragon, Covered Core * Stage 8: Demos, Crab, Gofer ;Famicom: * Stage 1: Phoenix * Stage 2: Big Eye, Giga * Stage 3: Volcano * Stage 4: Crystal Core * Stage 5: Jumping Moai, Big Moai * Stage 6: Zub Rush, Big Core, Tetran, Zelos Force, Covered Core * Stage 7: Demos, Crab * Stage 8: Gofer Category:Gradius Games